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Sugden Classic 2008

Saturday 1st March, at Adlington Barbell Club

The bomb shelter was packed - filled with lifters from all over the North West, even from as far as France - the scene was set for an incredible days lifting. This meet encompassed all strength athletes; present were several strongman competitors, multiple powerlifters and several olympic lifters. The lifters ranged from household names to international calibre lifters and to beginners making their first entry into a real gym.

Lifters were asked to perform two lifts - the floor to overhead anyhow and then the deadlift. Three attempts were allowed for each lift. Rules were simple - the lifter simply had to wait for the 'down' signal from Coach Alan Fairclough on each lift.

At 2 o'clock lifting began:

Mark Felix, 160/400 - 560
Mark has made rapid progress on both his overhead and deadlift technique in the past few months; today he put all his hard work to great effect. He finished with a very strong looking continental clean and press of 160kg. Moving onto the deadlift, Mark went 320,360 and finally a comfortable 400kg - breaking Phil Parker's club record deadlift of 355kg twice in the process. Mark finished with a 560kg total, but honourably passed up on any prizes and gave them to the lifters who finished behind him.

Mark Clegg, 182.5/285 - 467.5
Known as 'BarryBroadbent' on the forum, Mark put in a terrific display of lifting to finish second above Adlington's Steve Leigh. Mark hasn't been doing much olympic lifting recently, just a few practice sessions for this meet in fact - so to finish top of the jerk group with a 400lbs lift was a great achievement. Mark had chosen 180kg for his third lift, but when on the platform and MC Martin Flett mentioned that it was "just a few pounds below 400", Mark quickly told the spotters to load the extra 2.5kgs. On the deadlift, Mark finished with the third highlest deadlift with 285 - and very easy it looked too.

Steve Leigh, 150/310 - 460
Steve has a fearsome reputation as one of the best pressers in the country, so he was a little disappointed to end with 150 on the overhead lift. He missed the clean on his second lift due to a technical error so had to play his third one safe. However, he more than made up for this with a show stopping display on the deadlift - culminating in a 310kg PB aged 47!

Andy Littler, 175/262.5 - 437.5
Andys final lifts don't quite tell the full story here. Jumping to 185 on his second lift for a PB and club record, Andy did everything but hold the bar long enough for a down command. Knowing that 185 is a number of no significance to him, he went 190 on his third lift, cleaning it strongly (a PB clean in fact). Unfortunately he caught the bar a little too close to the throat and didn't have enough energy to give the jerk a proper shot. On the deadlift, Andy pulled a PB 262.5 before seemingly running out of steam on his attempt at 272.5 for his last lift.

Jeff Williams, 150/250 - 400
Jeff will be the first to admit he didn't have his best day today, he managed 150 on his opening clean and jerk then missed the clean and then the jerk on successive attempts at 160. However, he pulled a strong PB deadlift of 250 before passing on his third lift due to a slight twinge.

Richard Harris, 95/280 - 375
Powerlifter Richard came in with a strong finish of joint sixth place - opening on 280 on the deadlift, then just missing 290 twice. He managed 95 on the overhead lift, a good effort for a non-specialist.

Jonny Mills, 120/255 - 375
After weeks of piss taking due to going bald, Millsy put his comb-over to work. A comfortable 120 on the overhead and a raw deadlift PB of 255 ensured a high finish. After a poor overhead session on Wednesday Millsy set his sights a little low on the overhead, so we should see more improvements here very soon.

Joni Purmonen, 115/245 - 360
After injuring his back a week and a half ago, Joni wasn't sure whether or not to lift. However, he did, and he did so very well. With PBs in both lifts, Joni was one of the lifters of the day.

Gaz Boulton, 105/250 - 355
Powerlifter Gaz pulled a strong 250kg before missing 270kg on his last lift. All his overhead attempts looked extremely easy. A good all round performance.

Joe Bullock, 87.5/260 - 347.5
Taking time from his hectic work schedule, Joe The Terrible put in a fairly comfy overhead lift and then finished with one of the best pulls of the day, 260kgs.

Ian McDonald, 90/227.5 - 317.5
Ian put in some very comfortable power cleans and split jerks, before finally crushing the 500lb barrier in the deadlift - a milestone which had proved just a little too much for him on a few occasions in recent months. He pulled the 227.5 with more to spare, a great lift.

Rick Booth, 95/222.5 - 317.5
Rick hit a PB of 95 on his second lift, before just failing the top of his continental clean on his third attempt with 100. There is plenty more pressing power to be seen here once the cleans are conquered. Ricks best pull was a smooth 222.5kg before a slightly switched-off attempt at a PB 232.5kg.

Hayden Vincent, 102.5/210 - 312.5
Fuzzhead looked great on the overheads, ending up with a nice looking 102.5kg PB. Finishing with 210kg on the deadlift, a solid total was posted - with plenty more in the bag once his deadlifts become more regular again.

Johnathan Chevallier, 110/170 - 280
Also known as 'Mishima', Johnathan had been up travelling since 3am to make it to the Sugden Classic. He then managed to equal his PB clean and jerk of 110, before missing 112.5 on his last lift. A great result considering the travelling. All his deadlifts looked extremely easy.

Jonny Wignall, 80/195 - 275
Boar managed a comfy 80 on his second lift, before just missing 85 on the press for the third. He ended up with a cracking 195 sumo deadlift, which most people thought was a goner.

Luke Corcoran, 50/142.5 - 192.5
This was Luke's first encounter with a proper gym - and fair play for coming down as a beginner and getting stuck in. Luke showed loads of good aggression and explosive power, with technique work his strength will increase very quickly.

Alex Stuart, 0/185 - 185
'Mohawk Alex' was feeling ill so decided not to lift initially - however by the deadlifts he felt recovered and so asked if he could join in. He pulled a PB 185 deadlift in his jeans and with the stupidest hair of the day (which is saying something when Hayden is there).


The day finished with quite a lot of drinking at the Thatch and Thistle and then the White Bear in Adlington. Many people helped to make the day very special for all involved: Alan Fairclough (organising and refereeing), Big Phil Parker (platform manager), Martin Flett (MC), Sam (Scoreboard), Karen (Scoreboard), Aaron (Loading) and many others.

It was a great day for the website and for Adlington Barbell Club. It was a very special atmosphere with a very special mixture of lifters; from beginners to one of the worlds best strongman, everyone was there for a common purpose - to appreciate the great game that is lifting.

Lets hope there will be many more of these days to come.

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